Driving Naari Programme launched in Chandigarh
Dr Debraj Shome
- Excessive use of smartphones may be leading to this spiralling trend of sagging chins and thickening jaw lines. Commonly called ‘smartphone face’ or ‘text neck’, sitting for hours with the head bent forward, staring at your mobile or laptop screen can shorten the neck muscles
- People crane their neck forward 45 degrees when sending text messages. This places a weight of almost 22 kg on the spine, cervical ligaments and other muscles – five times the pressure that is considered normal.
They’re everywhere — teenaged texters, middle-aged commuters, people of all ages on the streets, in the malls, cafes, even gyms, hunching over the screens of their little mobile worlds, their necks jutting forward and/or down at odd angles. And they just stay at those funny angles, unmoving, frozen, totally oblivious to the world around them.
The number of mobile-phone users around the world is expected to exceed 5 billion this year. Mobile penetration is continually growing by up to 67 per cent with China contributing 1.5 billion mobile connections and India accounting for 1.1 billion. The surge in the growth of the mobile market is primarily being witnessed due to the reduced cost and easy availability of smartphones.
Mobile phones are now generally seen as being essential to our daily lives. The Groupe Spécial Mobile Association (a trade body that represents the interests of mobile network operators worldwide) estimates that two-thirds of the world’s population possess a mobile phone. In January 2018, 68 per cent of the world’s population had access to a mobile. This number is expected to reach 75 per cent by 2020.
On the other hand, ‘chinplants’ are becoming the fastest growing cosmetic surgery trend — more than breast augmentation, Botox and liposuction combined, according to statistics released by the American Society of Plastic Surgeons. Excessive use of smartphones may be leading to this spiralling problem of sagging chins and thickening jaw lines. Commonly called ‘smartphone face’ or ‘text neck’, sitting for hours with the head bent forward, staring at your mobile or laptop screen can shorten the neck muscles and increase the gravitational pull on the jowl area, leading to a drooping jawline.
Typically, people crane their neck forward 45 degrees when sending text messages. This places a weight of almost 22 kg on the spine, cervical ligaments and other muscles — five times the pressure that is considered normal. Over the course of a year, this amounts to an additional 1,000 to 1,400 hours of pressure on an average smartphone user’s spine.
Prolonged poor posture may cause saggy jowls, double chins and ‘marionette lines’ — the creases from the corners of the mouth down the chin. Teenage texters and overworked professionals could be the worst affected as they spend maximum time at their phones. Excessive use of smartphones and laptops could cause facial skin and muscles to lose their elasticity as people spend an increasing amount of time sitting with their heads bent.
The root cause of the problem is that in this age of selfies and sharing every moment on social networking sites, more and more people are concerned with how they look like and are not happy with what they see. The chin and jawline are among the first areas to show signs of ageing. As more people see themselves in photos or videos, they may focus on even minor flaws such as their jawlines, double chins, etc.
While chin implants are still relatively new in India, surgeons have noticed a rise in the number of requests.
However, surgeries or implants are extreme solutions for many young smartphone users who may have developed sagging chins and other problems due to shortened muscles.
Smartphone face is easily preventable. It can be managed by simple postural changes. For example, don’t constantly keep your head down. Instead, hold your smartphone or tablet up to look at it so your chin stays parallel to the ground. Though the best prevention would be to use these gadgets less! Try and allocate some time away from your phone or tablet so that you can give your neck some rest.
Maintaining a correct posture is the best possible solution. Regular facials and toning exercises of the face could help to prevent this condition from developing. Face yoga or facial exercises can come in handy to tone of the face muscles and reduce sagging. However, it may take some time to see significant results.
In extreme cases, skin surgeons recommend non-invasive treatments like high intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU), multi-needle radiofrequency, ultherapy etc. However, opt for these treatments only after 35 years. Before 35, face exercises, nutritious diet, good posture and lifestyle modifications are recommended.
A judicious use of smartphones and laptops with adequate precautionary measures will go a long way in preventing drooping jaws, double chin and other conditions associated with excessive use of these gadgets. Limiting the total amount of time spent in front of phones or laptops will enable us to enjoy the technology without suffering from any possible complications.
— The writer is a cosmetic surgeon, Apollo Spectra, New Delhi.
